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Are mindful people less aggressive? The role of emotion regulation in the relations between mindfulness and aggression
Author(s) -
Kim ElLim,
Gentile Douglas A.,
Anderson Craig A.,
Barlett Christopher P.
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
aggressive behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.223
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1098-2337
pISSN - 0096-140X
DOI - 10.1002/ab.22036
Subject(s) - aggression , mindfulness , psychology , human factors and ergonomics , injury prevention , poison control , occupational safety and health , suicide prevention , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , medical emergency , medicine , pathology
Abstract Inducing mindfulness has shown a promising effect on reducing aggression in both clinical and nonclinical populations, possibly because mindfulness can improve emotion regulation. The present study examined the association between mindfulness and aggression through potential mediating effects of several emotion regulation strategies. University and community samples of U.S. adults completed questionnaires on mindfulness, emotion regulation strategies, and trait aggression. Results indicate that mindfulness was associated with rumination and expressive suppression, which mediated the mindfulness‐aggression relationship. Most facets of mindfulness were unrelated to the use of reflection and cognitive reappraisal. The nonjudging of experience facet of mindfulness was negatively related to hostility through rumination and expressive suppression. In contrast, the observing mindfulness facet was positively related to verbal aggression and hostility; these relations were mediated by rumination and expressive suppression.